Three-wheel vehicles that incorporate a motorcycle style front end generally use a rear mounted engine. Other three-wheel vehicle designs have incorporated an engine between the passenger compartment and front wheel; however, such designs generally result in a high center of gravity for the vehicle. The aforementioned designs result in three-wheel vehicles that are inherently less safe than automobiles and/or do not provide the performance characteristics of a motorcycle.
Achievement of a combination of the desirable features of both types of vehicles presents a number of difficult technical problems, particularly in relation to the frame and the steering of the vehicle. Thus, it has been difficult and not cost effective to provide a strong, durable, and safe frame construction, typical of an automobile, in a three-wheel vehicle that retains the performance characteristics of a motorcycle. Additionally, it has been difficult to provide a construction for a three-wheel vehicle that affords the operational stability and handling of an automobile in a construction having the performance characteristics of a motorcycle.